ERIC ADLER, Effectiveness and Empire in Tacitus’ Agricola (1-14)

Abstract: Many scholars contend that Tacitus’ praise for Nerva and Trajan in the Agricola was heartfelt: only as his literary career developed did Tacitus prove condemning of the Roman Empire as a system. This article, in keeping with Bartsch’s notion of imperial doublespeak, argues against this claim, stressing that in the Agricola Tacitus can also be read as subtly undercutting the praise he included for the current emperors. It maintains that a key to Tacitus’ implicit criticism of imperial authoritarianism in the Agricola rests on the matter of effectiveness. Unlike all other categories of Roman leaders in the work, “good” emperors lack the ability to be effective agents of change. The Agricola thus carries important hints that Tacitus, far from disdaining Domitian alone, can also be interpreted as deeming the monarchical control of Rome problematic under any circumstances.

 

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 JENS JAKOBSSON, Dating of Timarchus, the Median Usurper. A Critical Review (15-26)

Abstract: In this article, a later dating (c. late 161– 160/159 BC) is discussed for the rebellion of Timarchus in Media and Babylonia against the Seleucid king Demetrius I. This later dating is supported by Diodorus Siculus and Appian, while cuneiform evidence shows that Demetrius I was recognised as king in Babylonia as early as 161 BC, and Demetrius’ first Babylonian coins celebrate the defeat of Timarchus. The previous Seleucid king, Antiochus V, however, was acknowledged in cuneiform documents but issued very few coins in the Seleucid east. With this parallel, the author suggests that Demetrius may have been recognised as king in Babylonia before Timarchus’ brief invasion but only issued coins there after Timarchus’ defeat.

 

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SALVATORE VACANTE, Wetlands and Environment in Hellenistic Sicily: Historical and Ecological Remarks (27-42)

Abstract: The achievement of a comprehensive and satisfying environmental picture of ancient Sicily has so far eluded modern historians. The absence of convincing conclusions on the role effectively played by wetlands in the Greek period is particularly striking. In the early first millennium BCE, Sicily was an ecologically multi-faceted island. However, some relevant ecological modifications rapidly took place in the island. The evidence shows that in most of the Central-Eastern Mediterranean Basin indiscriminate deforestation and agriculture rapidly caused soil erosion, alluvial deposition, and formation of extensive marshes in the late Classical – early Hellenistic period. There is no reason to assume that Sicily made exception to this general process. However, although serious environmental imbalances likely assumed significant proportions here, an overall understanding of local phenomena is far from being achieved. The aim of the present contribution is therefore to provide new information and suggest possible interpretative models for local ecological processes in the proposed historical framework.

 

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PAUL JOHSTONO, “Rumor, Rage, and Reversal: Tragic Patterns in Polybius’ Account of Agathocles at Alexandria” (1-20)

Abstract: Polybius’ Histories include numerous digressions devoted to condemning writers who penned sensationalized, or tragic, history. According to Polybius, tragic history tended toward invention rather than strict truth, because its purpose was to entertain rather than educate. Polybius’ harsh words for popular historians did not stop him from occasionally indulging a sensational edge. His account of the regency and overthrow of Agathocles at Alexandria merits special attention in a consideration of Polybian historiography, for not only did Polybius compose a dramatic, sensational narrative, he also ended the account with a sharp rebuke to any historian who would use the fall of Agathocles to spin a grand yarn. The story is rife with corruption, unrest, and violence, but in the final tally Polybius drew no moral lesson from it. These factors invite consideration of the historian’s undivulged purposes in crafting an account that showed, rather than told, a historical lesson.

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FRANCES POWNALL, “Dionysius I and the Creation of a New-Style Macedonian Monarchy” (21-38)

Abstract: The influence of the royal ideology of the Achaemenid Persians on Philip and (especially) Alexander of Macedon has increasingly been recognized, but the role of Dionysius I of Syracuse in their creation of a new-style Macedonian monarchy has received less attention. I examine some aspects of the royal ideology of both Philip and Alexander that appear to be modelled upon precedents inaugurated by Dionysius: self-fashioning as the god Dionysus, the wearing of purple (which conveyed both elite status and magnificent display), the adoption of the diadem, the donning of ornate festal clothing previously reserved for athletic victors and performers on the stage, and the desire to engage in theatrical performances themselves. The biased portrayal of the Macedonian court by the Greek sources and the apologetic tradition on Alexander have given rise to the popular misconception that he gave little thought to his ruling ideology until his ‘orientalism’ following his conquest of Persia, denying any influence in its development either to Philip or to Dionysius, who as the ruler of a large multi-ethnic empire was his only real predecessor in the Greek world.

 

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CHRISTOPHER KEGERREIS, “Setting a Royal Pace: Achaemenid Kingship and the Origin of Alexander the Great’s Bematistai” (39-64)

Abstract: Alexander the Great’s campaign significantly expanded Greek knowledge of Central Asia. While several experts assisted in this geographical collection process, none were as important as the bematistai, Alexander’s distance-measurers. The data collected by these specialists served as the foundation of Hellenistic mapping for the newly conquered regions. This paper is a reevaluation of the bematistai, notably their origin and the manner in which they collected their measurements. While the limited scholarly discussion concerning them has generally assumed that the specialty developed prior to the start of Alexander’s Asian campaign, this study suggests instead that Alexander borrowed from Achaemenid Persian collection practices and initiated this specialty unit mid-campaign. This late origination date demands a reconsideration of the methods the bematistai used to acquire measurements. While it has been suggested that they utilized measuring lines or even a primitive odometer to arrive at their measurements, a mid-campaign development suggests instead that these calculations were the product of pace counting.

 

 

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WALDEMAR HECKEL, “Dareios III’s Military Reforms Before Gaugamela and the Alexander Mosaic: A Note,” (65-69)

Abstract: Nylander contends that the Persian infantry adopted the Makedonian sarissa before the battle of Gaugamela, having experienced the effectiveness of Makedonian weaponry at Issos. In support of this view he cites a passage from Diodorus, who says that the Persians were armed with longer spears. Hence, he argues that the sarissas depicted on the Alexander Mosaic, which point in the direction of Alexander, are those of the Persian infantry. Unfortunately, the term used by Diodorus for the lengthened spears is xysta. The xyston was a thrusting spear employed by cavalrymen, not infantry. In fact, the parallel passage in Curtius shows that the military reforms pertained to the cavalry and not the infantry. Badian cites Nylander’s work with approval, adding that the sarissa-bearers on the right side of the Alexander Mosaic are in fact Persians. A close look at the Mosaic shows that this is not the case. Neither the literary nor the artistic evidence supports the use of the sarissa by the Persian infantry. Nor can it be argued on these grounds that the Alexander Mosaic depicts the battle of Gaugamela.

 

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TIMOTHY DORAN, Nabis of Sparta: Heir to Agis IV and Kleomenes III? (70-91)

Abstract: Sparta’s tyrant Nabis (r. 207 – 192 BC) has been pilloried by ancient commentators for his activities. Modern scholars have largely accepted these ancient views. Yet Nabis’ efforts are best seen as attempts to counteract Sparta’s population crisis that had started in the fifth century BC, just as Agis IV and Kleomenes III had done. His difference from their program was that he radically broke both from traditional Greek notions of the importance of descent- groups, and from the Spartans’ previous cultural policy of preserving the putatively pure eugenic bloodlines of the families comprising its body of full citizens, the Spartiates. This divergence is a significant, if under-examined, reason why Nabis’ contemporaries portrayed his reform efforts negatively, contributing to his downfall. It also caused later writers to view Nabis’ efforts harshly, resulting in a contemptuous neglect of this fascinating if chequered individual and his efforts.

 

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CHRISTOPHER TUPLIN, The Great King, his god(s) and intimations of divinity. The Achaemenid hinterland of ruler cult? (92-111)

Abstract: Intimations of living royal divinity in Persian sources are indirect and fall short of a plain king-god equation. At best the king’s divine election enabled hints that there was a more- than-human flavour about him. But these are visual or verbal rhetorical tropes, and major uncertainties (e.g. about the winged disk figure) have a troubling impact. Classical Greek assertions of Persian royal divinity are rare: there is little sign Greeks thought Persians saw the living king as god, let alone worshipped him. Since Persian sources offer no unequivocal indications and since one expects Greeks to be wary about the idea of a divine Persian king (divinization of humans was supposed to reflect unusual excellence), the presence of any Greek assertions of Persian royal divinity is striking. But such assertions are not necessarily valid: for there remains a strong connection with misinterpretation of proskunēsis. These considerations accentuate three Greek ideas that deviate from simple king-god identification: the king as “image” of god, the king’s daimon, and Ahuramazda making the king’s light shine. These are not products of a Greek environment intemperately addicted to the idea of Persian royal divinity, so should perhaps be taken seriously. Individually all could be Greek tropes, but some have thought that daimōn and light evoke the royal khvarenah (a quasi-personal daimōn, evocative of sun-light). This evidence for a rhetoric of divine aura shadows that in Persian sources. The Persian situation was no disincentive to Alexander’s propensity to assign himself divine qualities; and promoting court proskunēsis among Greco-Macedonians invited a divine interpretation—and trouble.

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MICHAEL KLEU, Philip V, the Selci-Hoard and the supposed building of a Macedonian fleet in Lissus (112-119)

Abstract: By concluding a treaty with Hannibal in 215 BC, Philip V of Macedon started the First Macedonian War (215-205 BC). After he had lost his fleet to the Romans in 214 BC, Philip conquered Lissus in 212 BC and thereby controlled an Adriatic port which could serve as basis for a new naval offensive against Rome. Although there is no direct evidence for such an approach, N.G.L. Hammond concluded that Philip had constructed a fleet of Illyrian lemboi in Lissus. This conclusion is based on bronze coins from Lissus and Scodra that seem to conform to the Macedonian coin series and on a report from Zonaras (9.6) regarding Macedonian operations near Corcyra in 211 BC. While the account of Zonaras has to be considered with caution, the bronze coins from Lissus and Scodra have, as primary sources, a high evidential value. Therefore, the article’s main focus will be put on these coins which belong to the Selci hoard and were published by Arthur Evans in 1880. Unfortunately, pictures of the Selci hoard’s coins have never been published since so that a mistake in Evans’s article has been copied in almost all later publications. The article will explain Evans’s mistake and offer a new discussion on the coins as evidence for Hammond’s conclusion regarding the supposed fleet of Illyrian lemboi that might have been built in Lissus. In the course of this discussion a new dating of the Selci hoard will be proposed.

 

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DENVER GRANINGER, Late Argeads in Thrace: Religious Perspectives (120-144)

Abstract: This paper collects the principal ancient evidence documenting later Argeads (Philip II, Alexander III, and Philip III-Alexander IV) performing cult in Thrace; three divinities are prominent: Dionysos, the Megaloi Theoi of Samothrace, and Herakles. Three overarching observations are offered: 1) Argead cult activity in Thrace can be seen to resemble what is known of their cult activity in the Aegean and southern Greek world on one hand, and in the territories of the Persian Empire on the other; 2) While what may have inspired Philip II and Alexander III’s initial cult actions toward these divinities remains oblique, the preserved sources offer intriguing evidence for later cult actions conducted to these same divinities in Thrace by other elites from outside of the region, including some Argeads; and 3) Thracian sanctuaries and cult sites were a specific, physical environment where Argeads and local elites could have engaged one another and assisted in the development of the kind of Thraco-Macedonian cultural koine described by W. S. Greenwalt among others. The paper includes preliminary discussion of the historiography of: Argead kingship and religion; and cultural relationships between Macedonia and Thrace.

 

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SEAN MANNING, A Prosopography of the Followers of Cyrus the Younger (1-24)

Abstract: The group of men who gathered around Cyrus the Younger (c. 424-401 BCE) and followed him in his unlucky attempt to become King are very well documented, but until now they have not been studied as a group. This is unfortunate, since prosopography is a powerful tool for learning about individuals and communities. This paper fills this gap, suggesting that in its reliance on personal relationships, favour-exchange, and closeness to the leader, Cyrus’ court resembled many others. Despite these similarites, however, the apparent absence of Lydian or Phrygian courtiers, and the continued careers of many of Cyrus’ followers after their revolt failed, may be specific to Cyrus’ court alone.

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EYAL MEYER, Cimon’s Eurymedon Campaign Reconsidered? (25-43)
Abstract: In the present study I argue against the hypothesis that the impetus for Cimon’s Eurymedon campaign in the early-460s BC was a Persian design to launch an offensive against the Greeks. The Athenians, I maintain, sent Cimon to south-western Anatolia in order to justify the existence of the Delian League and by extension Athens’ demand for ships, men, and tribute. Furthermore, all indications point out that the Persian forces Cimon engaged at the Eurymedon did not constitute an invasion force but local contingents gathered by the satraps of Anatolia in order to ward off the Greek invaders.

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JOSHUA P. NUDELL Alexander the Great and Didyma: A Reconsideration (44-60)
Abstract: Alexander the Great’s liberation of Miletus from Persia led to the rebirth of the oracle at Didyma, at least according to Callisthenes (Strabo 17.1.43). Modern scholars generally treat this account with healthy skepticism, but nevertheless accept the general outline of Callisthenes’ claim. This paper reexamines the ancient evidence, showing that no relationship existed between Alexander and Didyma. The association between the king and the restoration of the oracle at Didyma was part of a larger program designed to establish the oracle’s legitimacy that gained traction as a result of the relationships between Miletus and Seleucus I.

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JENS JAKOBSSON AND SIMON GLENN, New research on the Bactrian Tax-Receipt (61-71)
Abstract: The so-called Bactrian tax-receipt is a small leather document written in Greek, from the early 2nd century BC. Found in 1994, it is a rare administrative document from the Graeco-Bactrian kingdom. It was uniquely dated in the reigns of three kings: Antimachos (I) Theos, and his joint-regents Eumenes and Antimachos. For this paper, further technical analyses, including an IR photograph, were made to analyse traces of damaged text. The correct reading of the last line is affirmed, and the name of a fourth king, Apollodotos, could possibly be reconstructed. The political framework for the dating formula is also studied; including its possible connection to the rare Attic tetradrachms of the Indo-Greek ruler Apollodotos I. Finally, a remarkable passage in the 1st Book of Maccabees claims that Eumenes II of Pergamon, in the treaty of Apamea in 188 BC, was awarded Seleucid lands in Media and India. An analysis is made about whether the treaty may have actually included a clause about (apparently only nominal) Pergamene influence over eastern Seleucid vassal-states, and whether there might possibly be a connection to the otherwise unattested ruler Eumenes in the tax-receipt.

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KATHRYN WATERFIELD, Penteconters and the Fleet of Polycrates

Keywords: Penteconter, Polycrates, Thalassocracy, Samaina, Trireme

Abstract: In his Samian logos Herodotus emphasizes the successful ambitions of the tyrant Polycrates in attaining control of the Aegean during his reign in the last half of the sixth century BCE. He achieved this extraordinary success with one hundred penteconters—fifty-oared ships—and is given credit for being the first Greek thalassocrat. This paper examines what resources were necessary, in general, to pull off such a feat. Using Polycrates’ Samos as a case study reveals that a penteconter fleet was a very expensive endeavor in terms of resources and manpower. But the fleet of Polycrates, probably composed, at least in part, of a special design called the samaina, is illustrative of the fact that the penteconter went through a number of innovations in the Archaic period to facilitate its usefulness as a ship-of-the-line and cemented its popularity to the extent that it continued in use, in various iterations, for centuries.

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JOHN O. HYLAND, The Aftermath of Aigospotamoi and the Decline of Spartan Naval Power

Keywords: Sparta, Lysander, Peloponnesian War, Spartan-Persian War, trireme, coalition diplomacy

Abstract: Sparta’s naval victory in the Peloponnesian War depended on ship contributions from Peloponnesian and central Greek allies and funding from the Persian empire. At the end of the war, Lysander’s acquisition of captured enemy triremes allowed Sparta to break free from its reliance on allied warships, but not without long-term consequences. In the Persian War of the following decade, although Sparta was now able to launch a fleet without Corinthian or Theban participation, it lacked resources to maintain its aging ships’ seaworthiness, and its loss of Persian financial support doomed its efforts to recruit and pay adequate naval crews. The logistical and financial consequences of the breakdown of Sparta’s Peloponnesian War alliances brought about the collapse of its short-lived naval dominance.

 

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W. P. RICHARDSON, Dual Leadership in the League of Corinth and Antipater’s Phantom Hegemony

Keywords: Philip II of Macedon; Antipater; League of Corinth; Hegemon; Strategos Autokrator

Abstract: Philip II’s formation of the League of Corinth is a key aspect of his legacy. Upon his assassination, the structure and agreements surrounding the League allowed Alexander the Great to quickly establish control over the Greek states, and continue preparation of the campaign against the Persian Empire. This article presents two arguments regarding the positions of leadership within the League of Corinth as established by Philip. The first is that two distinct executive roles existed within the structure of the League. The current scholarly consensus is that the terms hegemon and strategos autokrator used in the sources refer to the same position. However, an examination of the ascensions of both Philip and Alexander demonstrates that both were confirmed to each role separately. The second is that during his absence from Greece, Alexander did not bestow upon Antipater the powers of a deputy hegemon of the League. While he acted as the regent of Macedon, examinations of the imposition of the Exiles Decree and the war with Agis III of Sparta show that Antipater never wielded the powers of the hegemon and, in the case of Agis III, that authority was still vested in Alexander.

 

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ANDREA F. GATZKE, Mithridates VI Eupator and Persian Kingship

Keywords: Pontus, Mithridates VI, Persianism, Kingship

Abstract: Mithridates VI Eupator is often regarded as a thoroughly Hellenized ruler, especially during his wars with Rome, when he made every effort to gain Greek supporters. While some scholars have discussed Persian aspects of the king’s ideology, there has been little attempt to understand the relationship between Mithridates’ Hellenism and his Persianism. This paper argues that Mithridates aimed to refashion Hellenistic kingship, which had thus far failed at curbing Rome’s eastward expansion, by openly incorporating elements of Persian kingship alongside more traditional Hellenistic methods of rule. Through this, he hoped to fashion himself as a new kind of dynast who would serve as the protector of all residents of the east – Greek and non-Greek – against the threat of Rome.

 

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Julian Degen, Xenophon and the Light from Heaven

Keywords: Xenophon, Anabasis, Cyropaedia, light phenomenon, Cyr. 4.2.15, An. 3.1.11, melammu, ancient Near Eastern motifs, Persian décor, aura, halo.

Abstract: In the discussion about Xenophon’s view about Persia and Achaemenid kingship an ancient Near Eastern perspective, until now, was almost marginalized. This paper enhances the recent discussion about Xenophon’s view on the ancient Near East as a traveller and author, providing new insights on two passages out of the Xenophontic corpus. Specific occurrences in the Anabasis and Cyropaedia can be denoted as light phenomena which announce transmission in Xenophon’s narrative. These light phenomena share the same motif and contexts as the presentation of the divine good-will towards the ancient Near Eastern king. Hence, this article for the first time discusses the presence of ancient Near Eastern motifs within Xenophon’s works by concentrating on the question how Xenophon gained his information and how he used it for his narratives.

 

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Kelly L. Wrenhaven, Laughing at Slaves: the Greek Comic Slave and the American Blackface Minstrel

Keywords: slavery, comedy, ancient Greece, United States, minstrelsy, blackface

Abstract: Ancient Greek and American slave representations might not have an obvious association, however, similar categories of imagery can arise out of two societies that are disparate in culture, location, and time. In ancient Greece and the antebellum United States, laughter was used as a mechanism to distinguish between slave and free, outsider and citizen. Both societies produced comic theatre that portrayed a subset of male slave characters in ways that often appear strikingly similar. This article examines the popular, entertaining, and derogatory representations of male slaves that appear in Greek comedy and American blackface minstrelsy. These were the types of characters that were the most likely to draw laughter and, perhaps, derision. They also illustrate the negative stereotypes (or “stock” characteristics) typically attributed to male slaves and demonstrate some of the ways in which ancient Greeks and nineteenth-century Americans attempted to justify slavery.

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Hamish Cameron, Founder of Babylon and Master of Asia: Semiramis and the Parthians in Strabo’s Geography

Keywords: Semiramis, Strabo, Parthia, geography, historiography, borderlands, imperial ideology

Abstract: Strabo begins his description of “Assyria” at Geog. 16.1 with an unusual unusual historical excursus that centers the legendary Assyrian queen Semiramis as the most important ruler and builder in the region. Introduced into the Greek literary tradition by Herodotus and significantly developed by Ctesias, Semiramis became a well-known and traditional figure in the Greek imagination whose deeds and character could be expanded, alluded to, and deployed for various narrative purposes in later authors, including Diodorus Siculus, Pompeius Trogus, and Strabo. During the Augustan period, parts of the area formerly ruled by Semiramis were an inter-imperial borderland between Rome and the Parthian empire and most were under the rule of the Parthian Empire. In writing of this borderland, Roman authors were forced to negotiate between an ideology of limitless Roman power and a reality of a permanent, independent foreign power. Strabo was aware of the reality of Parthian control, but in his narrative treatment of Assyria he deployed the semi-mythological figure of Semiramis as a Roman ideological tool to minimise Parthian power and suggest that Rome was the dominant contemporary power in the region.

 

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Mareile große Beilage, Four Observations on Mark Antony and the Triumviral Narrative

Keywords: Marcus Antonius, Second Triumvirate, Perusine War, Cleopatra, coinage, augur

Abstract: This short article adds some observations about the agenda of Mark Antony during the triumviral period. Matching numismatic and literary evidence, a strong case can be made for Antony actively supporting his family’s agitation against Octavian from 41-40 BCE. If the imagery on coins is taken seriously as a well-thought-out statement designed to express authority and ensure loyalty, it can further be argued that Antony’s close link to Cleopatra was not, per se problematic for a Roman audience but rather used to present Antony as a powerful, well-funded general. The prominence of Antony’s role as augur on the legionary denarii clarifies that Antony, contrary to the claims of his enemies, had remained well aware of Roman sentiments. In the decisive confrontation with a Roman rival (Octavian), the Antonian faction expected Antony’s priestly title to give him a type of authority that the mentioning of his victories as imperator would not have had.

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 Jennifer Finn, The Ship of Aeneas

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Keywords: Aeneas; Augustus; Aeneid; naval narrative; Persian Wars; Procopius

Abstract: The ship of Aeneas, the subject of a single literary attestation in Procopius, has received little serious attention from scholars. In a 1997 article, Pier Luigi Tucci made a plausible case for locating the shipshed for the vessel on the banks of the Tiber in the so-called navalia; he went further to propose that Augustus was the architect behind the ship’s placement there. Here I will expand upon Tucci’s argument by suggesting that Augustus dedicated the ship in 2 BC, simultaneous with the performance of his famous naumachia and the dedication of the Augustan Forum. As the culmination of a “naval narrative” surrounding his defeat of Antony and Cleopatra at the battle of Actium in 31 BC, the ship of Aeneas can be viewed as consistent with the first emperor’s ideological program; it carried allusions not just to the Trojan foundation of the city of Rome, but also to a subversive attempt to apply a revisionist narrative to Greek—and particularly Athenian—history. Augustus’ preoccupation with positioning his reign in the longue durée of global conflicts between East and West was so pervasive that it was still recognizable to Procopius in the sixth century CE.

 

S.G. Caneva, Back to Rhodes: Pausanias, Rhodian inscriptions, and Ptolemy’s civic acclamation as Soter

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Keywords: Ptolemy I, Soter, Rhodes, civic acclamation, Lindian Chronicle

Abstract: This paper deals with the vexed question of the historicity of Pausanias’ statement that Ptolemy I owed his epithet to the Rhodians. Three arguments are made in this contribution. 1) Contrary to old and new criticisms against Pausanias’ report, Rhodian inscriptions do not provide any evidence against the use of Soter as the epiclesis of Ptolemy I on the island; on the contrary, a generally overlooked passage of the Lindian Chronicle concerning the epiphany of Athena during Demetrios’ siege strengthens the hypothesis that Ptolemy was perceived by the Rhodians as the savior of their city, in a way comparable to Zeus. 2) Pausanias may have misunderstood the actual significance of the bestowal of the epiclesis Soter upon Ptolemy, if indeed he thought that his acclamation in Rhodes after the end of the siege established Soter as his official title in all regions under Ptolemaic control. While this acclamation should be interpreted within the local framework of Rhodian cults for Ptolemy, a comparative analysis of Pausanias’ words and of Hellenistic royal titularies suggests that Pausanias relied on Rhodian historiographic sources, which may have magnified the importance of the Rhodian episode for the general scenario of the Diadochi wars. 3) The most plausible context for the acclamation of Ptolemy as Soter in Rhodes is the aftermath of the siege in 305/4. This acclamation, together with the news reaching the court about the end of the Antigonid offensive, triggered the crowning of Ptolemy and his assumption of the royal title in Alexandria.

 

Emma Nicholson, Hellenic Romans and Barbaric Macedonians: Polybius on Hellenism and Changing Hegemonic Powers

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Keywords: Hellenism, barbarism, Polybius, Philip V of Macedon, Rome, cultural politics

Abstract: This article explores the relationship between the Greeks, Macedonians and Romans through the prism of Polybius of Megalopolis and his Histories in the second century BC. It throws light on how a Greek might control and construct the image of larger powers to explain political change and assert or deny them political and cultural legitimacy, while at the same time proclaiming the continued importance of Hellenic culture. It investigates Polybius’ construction and use of Hellenism in his Histories and demonstrates how he deliberately interchanged the trajectories of Macedon and Rome to offer an ideological explanation for Rome’s rise and Macedon’s fall, to assert that the preservation of the Greeks lay with Rome not Macedon, to protect the standing of the Achaean League, and to emphasise the importance of Hellenic virtues for success on the domestic and international scenes.

 

Melina Tamiolaki, Herodotus, Cretan neutrality and the Peloponnesian War. Revisiting Hdt. 7.169-171

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Keywords: Herodotus; Persian Wars; Cretan neutrality; Peloponnesian War; publication date of Herodotus’ Histories

Abstract: This article discusses the section on Cretan neutrality in Herodotus’ Histories (7.169-171). After highlighting some distinctive features of this account regarding its structure, the themes treated and Herodotus’ methodology, it proposes an interpretation based on the context of the Peloponnesian War: it suggests, more specifically, that the Cretan account contains hints of the events of the beginning of the Peloponnesian War (431-427 BCE), such as the plague, the opposition between islanders and mainlanders and the first attempts of the Athenians to conquer Sicily.

Thomas C. Rose, The Life and Afterlife of a Hellenistic Flagship: The “Sixteen” of Demetrius Poliorcetes Revisited

 

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Keywords: Demetrius Poliorcetes; Hellenistic kingship; Dedicated ships; neōrion; Lucius Aemilius Paullus
Abstract: This paper presents new evidence and new arguments in support of an old theory: the Macedonian “sixteen” Lucius Aemilius Paullus sailed up the Tiber in 167 BCE was built more than a century earlier by Demetrius Poliorcetes. Plutarch reports that Demetrius’ naval building program culminated in the early third century BCE with the construction of a flagship “sixteen,” the largest single-hulled warship constructed in antiquity, and there is no evidence that any of Demetrius’ Antigonid successors ever built or deployed ships approaching the size of this vessel. The Antigonid kings were participants in a larger Greek tradition of dedicating ships in sanctuaries, beginning with Demetrius’ construction of the Monument of the Bulls at Delos. Delian inscriptions refer to this elaborate structure as the Neōrion, since it featured a gallery for the display of a votive ship. The “sixteen” must have remained intact for so long because it, too, was housed in a neōrion. The most likely location would be the port city of Demetrias, Demetrius’ eponymous foundation and final resting place. For his part, Paullus demonstrated a sustained interest in appropriating Antigonid commemorative practices for his own purposes, most famously at Delphi, where he repurposed Perseus’ dedicatory column to celebrate his own victories in Greece. After Pydna, Paullus made two visits to Demetrias separated by an interval of several months—more than enough time to have the old flagship restored and refitted for the journey to Rome. In a final act of Antigonid emulation, Paullus installed the “sixteen” in a custom neōrion near the Tiber.

 

Marco Ferrario, Uno, nessuno, centomila. L’Asia centrale achemenide e le sue fonti: alcune note di merito e di metodo. Parte 1

 

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Keywords: Achaemenids, Bactria, Ethnography, Graeco-Roman Sources
Abstract: The primary goal of the present contribution is to reflect on some aspects of the literary dossier of sources relating to Achaemenid Bactria-Sogdiana (a region of Central Asia corresponding roughly to south-eastern Turkmenistan, southern Uzbekistan, south-western Tajikistan and northern Afghanistan). Despite the fact that it has by now become common practice to claim otherwise, we have, as an even cursory examination can testify, a large amount of information from the historiographical tradition on this region of the Achaemenid (and later Seleukid) empire: such a vast amount, in fact, that to date a truly exhaustive catalogue has yet to be compiled. The real problem, therefore, is not so much the quantity, but the quality of the sources we have at our disposal, which in no small measure affects the type of questions that the historian is able to ask this documentation. In contrast to a lasting scholarly tradition, this article seeks to demonstrate how the attempt to distinguish Achaemenid administrative «realia», masked by a veil of misunderstandings and intentional distortions typical of the Graeco-Roman rendering of the Persian world, cannot take us much further beyond the results achieved by the – indeed masterful – analysis conducted years ago by Briant. For this reason, the contribution seeks to tease out some of the other questions that can be posed to the sources we have, and with what results, focusing in particular on the interactions between 1) the «imperial» level of Bactria-Sogdiana territorial organization, 2) the local population (not only the élite strata of it) and 3) the satrapy’s landscape, conceived here not as a static background, but as a social actor in itself, with which both the imperial power and the locals had to interact, each with different modalities and aims.

 

Egidia Occhipinti, The treaty of alliance between Athens and Carystus: Supplements for lines 2-3 and 4-6 and further historical considerations

 

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Keywords: Carystus, Athens, treaty of alliance, Euboea, Second Athenian league, Demosthenes, Aeschines, Diodorus
Abstract: This paper discusses the content and background of the treaty of alliance signed by Athens and Carystus in 357 BC, giving a new reading of the connections that were established between Athens and Euboea during the first half of the fourth century BC. It suggests new supplements for lines 2-3 and 4-6 of that treaty, a time frame to date Carystus’ admission to the Second Athenian league, as well as her re-admission in 357, after she had left the league in 371. Furthermore, this study hypothesises that in 357 bilateral treaties of alliance were signed between Athens and several Euboean cities, on the model of the alliance with Carystus.

 

Chris Eckerman, Review Article: Richard Neer and Leslie Kurke, Pindar, Song, and Space: Towards a Lyric Archaeology. Johns Hopkins, 2019

 

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Marco Ferrario, Uno, nessuno, centomila. L’Asia centrale achemenide e le sue fonti: alcune note di merito e di metodo. Parte 2

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Keywords: Achaemenids, Bactria, Ethnography, Graeco-Roman Sources, Uzbekistan

Abstract: The present article completes a previous work dedicated to the study of literary sources for the historical reconstruction of the dynamics within the «imperial space» (sensu Lauren Morris) of Achaemenid Bactria. It is divided into two main sections. The first starts by a brief but – hopefully – exhaustive review of the main advances in archaeological research and, above all, of the most recent studies on the Upper Satrapies as they were seen, and administered, through the «spectacles» of the Persepolis Fortification Archive. While recognizing and pointing out the fundamental progress that such a – significant – expansion of the available documentary dossier has meant not only for the scholarship on Bactria, but for a better understanding of Central Asia as a whole, this section also lists its most conspicuous limitations, in order to focus the attention of scholars (and especially of those less familiar with the evidence scrutinized here) on what 1. archaeology does not reveal and 2. archival material tends to overshadow. Against this background, the second section of the paper addresses a category of evidence (ethnography) that has so far been relatively neglected in studies on Achaemenid Bactria but, as it is attempted to demonstrate, is however capable not only of enriching the currently available documentary corpus, but even of casting a revealing light on precisely those blind spots that the first part of this contribution has tried to sort out. As it will become clear in the final pages of the present paper, this last remark is particularly valid with regard to what, in a recent collection of essays, Richard Payne and Rhyne King have called The Limits of the Empire in Ancient Afghanistan: i.e. the complex dialectic between the Persian administration and a wide spectrum of local actors (remarkably, not only members of the elite) in order to control the abundant resources of this strategic region of Eurasia.

Sheila Ager, Dynastic Images in the Early Hellenistic Age: Queen’s Power or King’s Will?

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Keywords: Antigonids, Ptolemies, Seleukids; Representation of royal women; Ruler cult; Evolutionary psychology; Competitive mate display; Precarious manhood

Abstract: Evidence from the Hellenistic kingdoms, particularly Ptolemaic Egypt, suggests that in the early years of the Hellenistic age, queens (specifically, the wife of the king) were associated with a set of common characteristics, such as beauty, love, and fertility. This queenly representation – evident in art, literature, and royal cult – has been interpreted as a sign of the importance, even the power, of the royal female; this is especially the case with Arsinoë II, whose public image during her brief marriage to her brother and after her death was so tremendously dominant. This paper argues, not that these queens were unimportant or insignificant, but rather that the emphasis on the queen as an avatar of love and beauty may have been rooted in the king’s psychology rather than the queen’s influence. It is possible that the assimilation of the king’s mate to a goddess of beauty and sexual love, while intended to honour the queen, was intended even more to enhance the king’s masculine status in a form of competitive mate display.

 

Waldemar Heckel, Notes on Alexander in Central Asia

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Keywords: Areia, Arsames, Arsakes, Artabazos, Baktria, Barsine, Boxos, Chorienes, Drangiana, Oxyartes, Rhoxane, Rock of Sogdiana, Sisimithres, Sogdiana. Mercenary revolt

Abstract: This paper examines the satrapal arrangements made by Alexander in Central Asia (particularly Baktria, Sogdiana, Areia and Drangiana) in the years leading up to his departure in 327 for India. In the process it examines the relationship of Artabazos’ family and adherents to both Alexander and the other nobles of the area. Of particular interest is the position of Artabazos and his daughter Barsine in relation to Oxyartes and Alexander’s wife Rhoxane, the discussion of which touches on chronological problems of the years 328 and 327. As a postscript, an attempt is made to make sense of the uprising in Baktria, which occurred after the false news of Alexander’s death in India.

 

Thomas E. Strunk, History by Analogy: Cato the Younger and Caesar in Livy’s Account of the Second Punic War

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Keywords: Cato the Younger, Caesar, Livy, Hanno, Hannibal, Punic Wars

Abstract: Although Livy’s account of the late Republic has been lost to modern readers and with it Livy’s interpretation of events surrounding the lives of Cato the Younger and Julius Caesar, whom the Periochae confirm figured prominently in the books covering the late Republic. Yet Cato and Caesar are not wholly absent from Livy’s surviving works. The outlines of Cato’s character can be seen in Hanno, the Carthaginian senator who plays a prominent role in opposing Hannibal during the Second Punic War. There are also a number of interesting parallels between Hannibal and Caesar. When placed alongside one another the similarities between each pair of senator and general reveals an analogous paradigm. Livy’s construction of the relationship between Hanno and Hannibal closely resembles the contentious relationship between Cato and Caesar, suggesting that Livy used the analogous historical framework of Cato and Caesar to build his narrative of the discord between Hanno and Hannibal. Livy’s history by analogy reveals the policies and behaviors that put to ruin the power of Carthage and destroyed the Roman Republic.

 

Diego Romero Vera A la Búsqueda del Mons Marianus: Hipótesis y Datos Acerca de la Ubicación del Distrito Minero Imperial

 

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Keywords: Mons Marianus, patrimonium Caesaris, Sextus Marius, Hispania, mining.

Abstract: One of the most important Imperial mining districts in the Roman West, Mons Marianus, was situated in southern Hispania. Its mines belonged to the rich Hispanic citizen Sextus Marius and they were seized by Tiberius. Despite their importance, it is not known yet where actually these mines were located. In this paper we analyze the different theories about the location of the Mons Marianus and the literary, epigraphical and toponymical sources from Roman times that mention it.

 

Andreas Morakis, Archias, the Heracleids, the Bakhiads and the Foundation of Syracuse.

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Keywords: Archias, Syracuse, Bakhiads, Heracleids, Greek colonization

Abstract: This paper tries to explore the origin of Archias, the founder of Syracuse. Archias according to the communis opinio, which was formulated already from the end of the 19^th century (by Freeman) descended from the aristocratic family/clan of the Bakhiads who ruled the city during the early Archaic period. Moreover, another view based on a reference of the Parian Marble supports the Argive origin of the oikistes of Syracuse. Both views are challenged. In particular, the first opinion is considered as the outcome of the false perception of the character of Syracuse’s foundation, as state guided, namely organized by the authorities of the city, the Bakhiads who chose one of their members (Archias) and put him in charge of the colonial expedition. As for the Argive origin, this is also rejected and is claimed to have been formulated during the early 4^th century when Argos and Corinth were briefly united under a single state. In the end, it is supported that Archias was a Corinthian of noble origin (a Heracleid) who left Corinth in order to find the political role denied in his country by the ruling family of the Bakhiads, and founded a colony (jointly probably with other nobles) mainly on his own initiative.  

 

Dionysios Filias, Ho boulomenos in the legal procedure of the Hellenic League of 302 B.C. and Athenian influence on the prosecution systems of the Panhellenic Leagues.

 

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Keywords: Hellenic League, Athenian law, ho boulomenos, ancient Greek law, Athenian influence, Demetrius Poliorcetes, Panhellenic leagues, Athenian legal procedure

Abstract: This article examines the possibility that Athenian legal proceedings initiated by volunteers influenced the relevant procedures provided by the constitution of the Hellenic League of 302 B.C. Study of the epigraphic evidence shows that the dominant position of Athens in the Delian League led to the occasional prosecution of crimes denounced by volunteers before the Athenian law courts, and that the Athenian legal system also influenced the judicial proceedings of the Second Athenian League. Although it seems that the legal procedure of the Second Athenian League set a precedent for the procedural rules of the Hellenic League, the wording of the constitution of the Hellenic League indicates that its provisions on prosecution by ho boulomenos were inspired, rather, by features of the Athenian judicial system. The similarity between Athenian procedural rules and the judicial process in the charter of the Hellenic League can probably be put down to the close relationship that Demetrius Poliorcetes, one of the creators of the Hellenic League, had with Athens.

 

Mary Frances Williams, Some Thoughts on Alexander’s Battle at the Hydaspes, especially in relation to Xenophon, Cyropaedia 7.1

 

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Keywords: Alexander the Great; ancient military history; Hydaspes; horse-archers; Xenophon, Cyropaedia; Thyambrara

Abstract: This paper addresses and resolves several connected problems in Arrian’s account of the Battle of the Hydaspes: the role of the horse-archers; what happened to the chariots; Alexander’s order to Coenus; and whether there was cavalry on the Macedonian left wing. In addition, it is argued that Arrian used Xenophon’s fictional Battle of Thyambrara (Cyropaedia 7.1) as a model for his account of the Battle of the Hydapses. Arrian shaped his narrative according to the Xenophontic model, and the parallel explains Arrian’s puzzling organization and clarifies his account of the battle. 

 

 

 

 

 

José Miguel Gallego Cañamero, Virtus y strategemata en la conquista de Qart- Hadasht

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Keywords: P. Cornelius Scipio Africanus, Qart- Hadasht, Marching, Second Punic War, Experimental Archaeology, Via Scipionis

Abstract: Historiography has systematically discussed the references of Polybius and Tito Livio relative to the march carried out by Publius Cornelius Scipio “Africano” against Qart-Hadast (209 BC) considering it unacceptable. In the present work it is argued that they could be credible references and some traditionally accepted arguments in this regard are submitted for discussion. On the other hand, it is postulated that the march could have been planned based on episodes that had taken place in the Mediterranean environment and that Scipio would have known during his training. The possibility that the strategic relevance of the capture of the Punic city had been transmitted by its predecessors is suggested. Additionally, data related to Experimental Archaeology are provided that discuss its usefulness for the study of events of this magnitude.

 

Fabrizio Biglino,  The Army and Movement of People during the Roman Republic

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Keywords: Roman colonization, overseas settlement, military settlement, Roman Republic, movement of people

Abstract: With regards to colonization and the movement of people outside of peninsular Italy during the Roman Republic, the traditional narrative dates it not before the late second century BC and the final part of the Republican period. It is however possible to argue in favour of a different, more dynamic picture. Through this paper, it is my intention to suggest that Roman and Italian presence in the overseas provinces was more substantial than traditionally believed. This will be achieved by arguing that the army actually played a crucial role within this process as Roman expansion across the Mediterranean undoubtedly triggered a sustained and constant movement of people from Italy to the growing overseas empire. Through this pattern of expansion and settlement, this paper will suggest that Roman and Italian citizens actually settled on their own initiative throughout the Republican period without any relationship to state-sponsored colonization. In particular, I will offer a first attempt of framing a new, still rather unexplored category of settlers: soldiers who, at the end of their periods of service, decided to settle in the provinces where they had served rather than return to Italy. Through an examination of key provinces such as Spain and Africa, this paper will emphasize the crucial role played by the army within the overall process of movement and settlement of people, and how dynamic such a process proved to be.

 

Marian Helm, Between urbs and tribus, The expansion and organization of the ager Romanus in the Early Republic

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Keywords: urbs, tribus, space, territorial organization, administration, central places, tributum, civitas Romana, comitia centuriata, Roman expansion in Italy

Abstract: The Roman conquest of Italy and the Mediterranean rested on the shoulders of its citizens. It is therefore surprising that Roman republican scholarship has paid little attention to the majority of the cives Romani living in the steadily expanding rural tribus, which reached their final number of 35 with the Quirina and Velina. Although the conditions and historical circumstances of new tribus varied greatly between 387 and 241, some remarkable general features can be discerned. In contrast to the coloniae Latinae, the tribus seem to have relied on a grass-roots organization for the levying of taxes and soldiers and lack large urban sites. This article argues that the central Roman authorities consciously avoided the creation of elaborate administrative structures in regard to the ager Romanus in the fourth and third century BC.

 

Pamina Fernández Camacho, The foundation legend of Gades: inventions interpretations and developments through the ages

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Keywords: Gades (Cadiz), foundation legend, Strabo, Justin, Modern and early modern Spanish historians

Abstract: This paper contains a study of the tradition of foundation legends concerning the city of Gades (ancient Phoenician colony of Gadir and modern-day Cadiz), from the first ancient testimonies to its reception by historians of subsequent ages. The aim of this study is to show how both the elements established in the original tradition and the way they were understood, developed, or even changed, mirrors the historical and ideological context of each period. This active dialogue of every era with the tale of the origins of a city, which existed and kept a recognizable sense of identity for almost 3,000 years, gives us a privileged insight on how history is made.

 

Silvia Gazzoli, Marmore Ornare. Esempi di evergetismo nelle città dell’Italia Romana

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Keywords: Roman marbles, epigraphy, Roman Italy, euergetism, ornaments/Marmi antichi, epigrafia, Italia romana, evergetismo, ornamenti

 

Abstract: The aim of this paper is to examine the epigraphic evidence concerning marble ornaments and decorations found in the roman cities of the Italian peninsula. This topic is strictly related to the social practice identified in modern scholarship as euergetism, that could be defined in this case as donations by private citizens of decorations or marble elements to adorn public buildings. In this paper the analysis of inscriptions will lead to considerations regarding the decorations, the social status of sponsors and personalities mentioned, and information provided by other sources as juridical texts or literature.

 

Martine Diepenbroek, Hiding Secrets in Greek Siegecraft: Why did Aeneas Tacticus Never Discuss the Spartan scytale?

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Keywords: Aeneas Tacticus; Greek warfare; cryptography; Sparta; scytale

 

Abstract: Communication security – known as cryptography and steganography – is as important to modern states, as it is to ancient ones. The earliest known original source on ancient communication security is Aeneas Tacticus’ How to Survive Under Siege. It is in Aeneas Tacticus’ work that historians of cryptography insist that we would expect to find a discussion of the cryptographic device known as the Spartan scytale had its use as a cryptographic device been known to Aeneas Tacticus. However, in this article I will show that Aeneas Tacticus had other reasons for not discussing the scytale as a cryptograph – the main reason being that Aeneas was far more interested in steganographic practices to physically hide messages than cryptographic practices like the scytale, used to encipher secrets.

 

Thomas Rose and Shane Wallace, The Athenian Revolt from Demetrios Poliorketes: New Evidence from Rhamnous (I.Rhamnous 404)

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Keywords: Aristeides of Lamptrai; Demetrios Poliorketes; Polyainos; Mouseion; Piraeus; Macedonian garrisons

 

Abstract: The recent publication of a decree from Rhamnous (I.Rhamnous 404) sheds new light on the Athenian revolt against the occupying forces of Demetrios Poliorketes and the expulsion of the king’s garrison from the Mouseion Hill, an action that is usually dated to 287. The decree honors Aristeides of Lamptrai for his distinguished record in the period between the capture of the Mouseion, when he held the office of general epi ten paraskeuen, and his generalship of the coast at Rhamnous in the year of Menekles (267/6) when the decree was passed. Since we know from another source that Aristeides held a generalship in the archonship of Telokles (280/79), the decree has been cited as evidence that the expulsion of Demetrios’ garrison should be downdated to Telokles’ year. But I.Rhamnous 404 also credits Aristeides’ brother Mnesidemos for his role in the capture of the Mouseion, and a richly detailed stratagem recorded by Polyainos demonstrates that Mnesidemos was killed in a botched attempt to evict another Macedonian garrison from Piraeus in 286. Thus, the decree for Aristeides confirms the traditional dating for the capture of the Mouseion and helps elucidate the other sources that document the Athenian revolt from Demetrios.

 

Jiaxin Liu, The social structure of the Spartan City-State: A game-theoretic explanation

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Keywords: Sparta; Ancient Greece; Game Theory; Analytic Narratives; Social History; Class Conflict

 

Abstract: This paper seeks to explain Archaic and Classical Spartan society through game-theoretic measures. Namely, it argues that the strict hierarchy and relative stability of the Lacedaemon polis (Spartan city-state) is the result of a game equilibrium that both the elite (Spartiates) and the non-elite (Helots) of society—who are modeled as independent “game players”—are unwilling to deviate from. Yet, it is also emphasized how such an equilibrium could in fact be disrupted, and how the Spartiates and Helots were incentivized to not maintain or maintain the status quo under certain conditions. These disruptions were manifested through socio-economic inequalities among the Spartiates and Helot rebellions. Exogenous factors such as natural disasters and intervention by foreign city-states are also considered in the analysis since they influence the construction of Spartan society as well. Overall, this study highlights the possibility of a quantitative study of historical class tensions, and provides a unique perspective on one of the most distinct and well-known polities of antiquity.

 

 

 

Alyson Roy, Commodifying Privatizing Conquest Power in the Late Roman Republic: The Case of L. Licinius Lucullus

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Keywords: consumerism; prestige; villas; banquets; cultural capital; conspicuous consumption

 Abstract: The late Roman Republic witnessed the consolidation of power in the hands of individual aristocrats. Simultaneously, wealthy Roman elites increasingly conveyed social status through domestic spectacle – that is, the decoration, aesthetics, and entertainment functions within their homes and villas. These two developments were explicitly linked. As traditional paths to power became less accessible, Roman elites frequently enhanced their power through alternative means. Domestic spectacle offered potent opportunities both for solidifying electoral support and for forming, and maintaining, political relationships. Using L. Licinius Lucullus (cos. 74 BCE) as a case study, this paper traces how private display and conspicuous consumption became integral to elite identity, offering complementary paths to power that ultimately broadened access to political authority.

 

Jeremy LaBuff, Beyond “Greeks”: Toward More Inclusive Histories of the Ancient Mediterranean

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Keywords: Greekness, modern historiography, identity, Athens, Hellenistic World

Abstract: This article argues that a commitment to the category of “Greeks” in framing the study of the ancient Mediterranean embeds us in the legacies of nationalism, colonialism, and racism, and rests on a problematic evidentiary basis. After reviewing the ways that scholarly narratives subtly endorse this legacy, I examine two case studies, Classical Athens and the world of the Hellenistic kingdoms, to argue that minimal impact of Greek identity discourse does not justify framing their histories through the category of Greekness. The paper closes with a consideration of how to reframe “Greek” history in more inclusive and coherent ways.

 

Paul Jarvis, Commodus’ Court: Conspiracy and Consequences

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Keywords: Political culture, Antonine Rome, Commodus, conspiracies, prosopography

 Abstract: Many scholarly and popular studies of the reign of Commodus (180-192 CE) focus on his crimes and character. In the present article it is my intention to argue that Commodus’ reign can instead be productively evaluated by using the concept of political culture. Using this concept, it is possible to reframe questions about Commodus’ ability and success as an emperor along sociological lines and, via analyses of his succession and the conspiracy against him early in his reign (180-3), describe the structural features of Roman imperial society that were inimical to him as a young emperor. To accomplish this, I first highlight the differing historiographical treatment of the reigns of Marcus and Commodus. I next examine Commodus’ succession and the conspiracy against him, using accounts of these inflection points to investigate the underlying Antonine political culture. Prosopography is used to nuance the literary evidence and demonstrate the real and lasting break by Commodus with his father’s networks of supporters and the aristocracy more generally. My intention throughout is to show, with reference to previous work on the concept of political culture in imperial Rome, how the relationship between the emperor and the aristocracy in the Antonine period was characterised by mutual obligations and expectations which Commodus’ youth left him unable to fulfil. The consequences for emperor and aristocracy alike was a violent conflict of interests with socio-political origins.

 

Stefanos Apostolou, When was Aeolis? The Fluctuating Boundaries of Aeolis, Mysia, and the Troad

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Keywords: Aeolis, Ancient Geography, Mysia, Troad, Ancient Asia Minor, Strabo, Ilion, Roman Propaganda

 Abstract: This paper discusses the fluctuating boundaries of Aeolis in the preserved geographical accounts from the Classical to the Roman periods. Instead of confusion and inaccuracy on the part of ancient authors, it argues that the changing size of Aeolis in our sources reflects political and conceptual changes of the times of authorship. Those changing circumstances caused an oscillation of the size of Aeolis: from a Herodotean Small Aeolis to a Larger Aeolis in the 1st century BCE, and back to the Herodotean rule after the 3rd century CE. The paper explains the oscillation on the basis of two significant changes in ancient Asia Minor. First, the consolidation of Ilion firmly at the northwest corner of Asia Minor created new possibilities for communities on the southern coast of the Troad, as they could combine claims of Trojan and Aeolian affiliation. Then, those opportunities were enhanced after the forging of a special relationship between Rome and Troy, exalted by Iulian and imperial propaganda. The growth of Aeolis left little room for Mysia, which disappeared from geographical accounts between the 1st century BCE and 1st CE. After the imperial propaganda subsided, Mysia resurfaced and the size of Aeolis returned to its classical boundaries.

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Anna Accettola, IG XII Suppl. 307: Proxenia and Second-Century Nabataea

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Keywords: Nabataea; Hellenistic Aegean; proxenos; Tenos

Abstract: Inter-state cooperation was a staple of Mediterranean life in the second century BC. However, second-century Nabataea has been seen as underdeveloped in such relationships and relegated to a peripheral sphere of influence. The Tenean inscription IG XII Suppl. 307 belies this small role and rather integrates Nabataea into the institutional norms of the Hellenistic Aegean. A Nabataean, Salamenes, was awarded a highly coveted proxenos position by the Tenean council and demos, granting him access to rights normally reserved for citizens. In addition, this honor bridged the cultural and physical divide between the two states, guaranteeing a facilitation of social and economic movement. Such a public honor may be read as additional evidence for early Nabataean state formation and its growing influence in the Aegean. 

 

Tomasz Zieliński, Demetrius Poliorcetes’ nickname and the origins of the hostile tradition concerning his besieging skills.

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Keywords: Demetrius Poliorcetes, Diodorus Siculus, Poseidon, Plutarch, Rhodes, nicknames

Abstract: The article examines Demetrius Poliorcetes’ sobriquet and the origins of the hostile tradition towards this king and his besieging skills. The prevailing opinion is that Demetrius’ nickname derived from his unsuccessful siege of Rhodes (305/304 BC) and was applied to him in derision. Recently, however, we have observed a rise in interest in his military undertakings, especially sieges he laid. A re-examination of the ancient sources demonstrates that king’s sobriquet, emphasizing his poliorcetic talents, was well-deserved. This paper attempts to provide further arguments to support this claim. Moreover, they also shed some light on innovative aspects of Demetrius’ royal self-fashioning, one of the key elements of which were his talent for designing siege engines and engineering endeavors. Such conclusion might produce an essential change in our interpretations of the origins of the hostile tradition against the king.

 

Alessandra Coppola, The Return and “Purification” of Alcibiades

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Keywords: Alcibiades, Return, Plynteria, Purification, Tragic models

Abstract: This paper describes some aspects of Alcibiades’ return to Athens in 407 B.C., focusing on some neglected aspects an especially on the coincidence between his repatriation and the first day of the Plynteria, which was considered an ominous day because of the goddess Athena being veiled and purified in the sea. The question arises whether this happened by chance or in a well-orchestrated plan which aimed at presenting an impure but repented Alcibiades searching for “purification” in connection with the goddess. Some similarities with Euripide’s Iphigeneia in Tauris are also taken into account.

 

Federico Santangelo, Caesarism in Ancient Rome?

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Keywords: Caesarism; Julius Caesar; Augustus; Late Roman Republic; Roman Principate; Roman political culture; history of classical scholarship.

Abstract: This paper offers a reconsideration of the concept of ‘Caesarism’, charts its presence and development in the modern historiography on ancient Rome, and argues for its validity to the understanding of the history of the late Roman Republic and the early Principate.